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Resumés for Dummies by Joyce Lain Kennedy
Published by Wiley Publishing
Reviewed by Leigh Kimmel
Is the resumé dead? Some writers are arguing that online job placement services such as Monster.com have rendered the resumé obsolete and there is no longer any reason to worry about compiling and maintaining one. In this book, long-time jobs columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy presents a compelling case that, far from being dead, the resumé is a more critical job-hunting tool than ever. In fact, it is no longer sufficient to have one well-written resumé -- instead, you need to be able to spin off variants of the basic resumé specifically targeted to the employers you are attempting to attract.
Like all books in the For Dummies imprint, this book has certain organizational features intended to help make its information as accessible as possible to the reader. At the beginning, just inside the front cover, you will find the cheat sheet, a page printed on cardstock and perforated so that you can tear it out of the book and put it somewhere convenient to consult as you actually compile your resumé. One section covers ways to avoid problems when changing careers by showing how your experience is relevant to the new field. Another covers ways to make sure your resumé doesn't end up in the hands of people who want to take advantage of you. And on the other side, there are nine important tips to avoid blunders that can torpedo your resumé so badly that you won't even have a chance to present yourself better at an interview.
Similarly, the table of contents is designed to first give an overview, the "Contents at a Glance," followed by a more detailed table of contents. The Contents at a Glance gives only the titles of the chapters, which allows the reader to get an overview of the book's structure on a single page. In the detailed table of contents, each chapter is broken down into its individual sections, enabling readers who are looking for specific information to zero in on it quickly.
Ms. Kennedy starts right off by explaining why traditional approaches to the resumé no longer work in the modern job-hunting environment. In particular, it is not longer possible to just have your resumé as a static document, complete unto itself. In addition, she discusses the importance of being aware of online tools for the job search and how to adapt the resumé to their requirements. She also discusses how to use the new Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, instant messaging and Podcasts to present your resumé and your presence in the job market.
After establishing the ongoing importance of the resumé and the way it can be made to work for you in the job search, she discusses the basics of constructing your master resumé from which you'll be spinning off targeted resumés for specific jobs. First she examines the different types of resumés -- reverse chronological, functional, hybrid, academic CV, etc. -- and what situations they are best suited to. Then she discusses how to word one's resume for maximal impact. The phrasing of specific qualifications and achievements can make a huge difference in whether the resumé reads as a lifeless summation or as something that makes the reader stand up and take note of this person as a potential significant contributor in the field.
The bulk of the book is given to examples of specific resumés of the various types, so that the reader can see exactly how different resumé types can be adapted to a wide variety of fields, and especially how one can overcome problems such as overqualification, disabilities, or blots on one's permanent record by properly organizing the resumé to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative.
In addition, she gives a chapter to examples of how a weak or otherwise problematic resumé can be reorganized to better attract the attention of employers. For instance, she takes a retired serviceman's resumé and translates the military jargon into terms understandable to the average civil service HR person. She also takes the resumé of a person who wants to move out of sales and into administration and shifts its focus so that the experience and skills that are particularly relevant to administrative work are highlighted.
After this thorough discussion of the specifics of resumé drafting and structuring, Ms. Kennedy also discusses where to go next. For instance, there is the sticky problem of references. You want to make sure that your references are giving you shining recommendations -- which means making sure that they don't get worn out by too many calls too early in the hiring process, so that when someone is seriously considering you for a position, they let their responses become colored by irritation at previous inquiries. Ms. Kennedy also discusses the proper way to go about following up on resumé submissions to make oneself stand out from the countless other job-hunters who have sent in resumés.
Finally, no For Dummies book would be complete without its Parts of Ten, and Ms. Kennedy gives us plenty of them. The first is "Ten (x3) Ways to Prove Your Claims," a list of ten number statements, ten percentage statements, and ten dollar-amount statements with which you can provide concrete evidence for the experience and achievements you claim on your resumé. The second, "Ten Ways to Improve Your Resumé" covers the basics of ways to reword a resumé to make it shine. "Ten Tips on Choosing Professional Resumé Help" is for people who thinking about turning to a professional resumé writer. Although they have been useful for some people, all too often they can end up being a waste of money, doing nothing more than the basics that the job-seeker can do for him- or herself. "Ten Pet Peeves of Recruiters" takes us inside the world of the headhunters to see what they say to one another when nobody else is listening. And "Your Ten-Point Resumé Checklist" focuses on making the physical (or digital) artifact of your resumé look good and stand out from hastily prepared wannabes.
Review posted May 14, 2010.
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